he noticedthe way the boy glanced around him, surprised to find officiers still out andabout at such an ungodly hour. but crime never slept, as witnessed tonight.there had to be somebody ready to spring into action at any time of the day, nomatter how exhausted, no matter how sore their muscles were. of course, hyunwooshould have been home by now, but there was something in the shorter manâsvoice, a desperation and terror that made his blood boil in anger that such aninnocent looking person had been catapulted in such a dark, dangerous world.
perhaps itwas how his fingers curled around his mug, slender yet unusually longconsidering his small frame. it made him look so terribly frail, easily snappedin half at the most gentle gust of wind. hyunwooâs heart softened at the sight.he did not feel tired anymore, taken by a sudden burst of energy in wanting tohelp the stranger get a hold of himself. right there and then, he promisedhimself that he would never let him come to harm. ever.
âchaehyungwon,â the officer repeated as memories of his previous introductionrushed back. heâd been in such a daze back in the parking lot that he forgotmost of what had been discussed. now seated in front of hyungwon, knees almostbrushing up against his, he was ready to take his statement.
he did not expect it to be easy. so many times he watched witnesses as theybroke down, struggled to recall the simplest details, burst in panicked tearsat the sole thought of what could have happened had they not got out in time.armed with endless patience, hyunwoo drank the bland tasting coffee, getting anotepad and pen ready. as soon as hyungwon started to talk, he put his mug downand took notes, even though he knew there would be a lot of questions to askafterwards.
âanalley,â hyunwoo mumbled to himself, eyes barely leaving the boyâs figureto write down. he let him tell the rest, attentive to even the smallest detailsbut conscious that hyungwon could not possibly give all of the answers he wouldhave needed. if what he saw was real, which he believed it was from the way hislips trembled and body tensed up at the mention of the gun, he would need toalert his superior immediately. the older could not help but placing a hand onhis knee in a comforting manner, similar to the one he put on his shoulderearlier on. was it too intimate for a first meeting? â
"listen to me,â he said, tone soft and reassuring, âiâm going tohelp you. iâll have questions to ask you, just to clear up some details. butbefore we get startedâŠâ a faint smile graced his lips as he reached forone of his drawers, pulling out the snack cake he kept away from prying eyes incases of sugar craving. âchoco pie?â there was nothing chocolatecouldnât at least help a little bit, he hoped it would be the case withhyungwon. ânow, letâs start from the beginning. the noise you first heard,could you describe it? was it a gunshot or something else?â
his body felt numb, heavy. the hand that landed on his knee was warm, but barely noticeable through the tremble of his body and stiff iciness that had taken over him. hyungwon sniffs and blinks and reaches up, pushes his glasses up to wipe at his eyes even as the wetness refuses to cease and his vision remains blurry. he feels stressed and overwhelmed but tries to keep it in and contained - the tremble increases, but no more sobs fall from his lips as his tired eyes meet hyunwooâs. thick lips instead press into a firm line; he tries to listen to what the officer is saying, but the rushing in his ears is overwhelmingly loud and the sound of his own, rapid heartbeat does little to calm him.
another rush of panic takes over him and makes him flinch at the mere idea of forcefully summoning up the memory again when hyunwoo shifts and turns and suddenly thereâs a choco pie in his hand, held out to hyungwon like he was little more than a child that needed soothing. the mug that had been in his hands was temporarily forgotten as the student instead reaches for the snack, slow and sluggish. the plastic wrapping crinkles in his shaky hold. heâs not sure how he managed to rip it open; the hiccuped breaths and stray tears that wouldnât stop were both ignored in favour of stuffing the choco pie into his mouth in one go and puffing his already full cheeks even further. could he even be taken serious as a witness with his mouth full and nose running?
the officer had asked for details, his tone gentle and reassuring and soft and hyungwon was trying not to choke as he forced the half chewed up pieces in his mouth down and reached for the mug in front of him in attempts to gulp half of it down. it burned in his mouth, on the way down his throat but his body was starting to feel icy cold and the med student registered somewhere in the back of his head that he could potentially be in shock.
âit was a clank, like, like- metal.â his eyes are restless again, shifting again and he wipes at them with stiff fingers and takes his glasses off. there were teardrops from his lashes and dust collected on the greasy glass; they would be useless to him in that moment anyway. âthe lid of a garbage bin fell and, and⊠a man was shouting⊠something.â dark brows furrow as he tries to recall what exactly it was that he had heard. âno. he shouted no. it was definitely a man, a man was shouting-â his own fingers cover his lips again, blunt teeth pinching the skin of his thumb nervously which led to his words to sound even more like a mumble than before, âi was on my way to get coffee, i needed coffee, so, so i was on my way to the coffee shop just off campus and two corners before you turn to the left to reach the coffee shop, thatâs where it happened, thatâs when i heard it. a clank and a shout and then- then the gun and-â the tears start welling up again and the back of hyungwonâs hands press against his eyes, wipe at them vigorously, âthey were both tall, both broad. definitely man. it was too dark i couldnât see much⊠just how- how the man getting shot flinched, his whole body just twitched and-â hyungwon shakes his head, his chest heaving with hiccupy breaths and suppressed sobs and once again the student is useless, unable to utter more than a collection of i donât know more and iâm sorry.
